IRVINE, Calif. – The USA Men's Junior National Team roster has been announced for the upcoming World Aquatics Men's Junior World Championships (U20) starting later this month in Zagreb, Croatia. Head Coach Jack Kocur will lead 15 of the top up and coming athletes from around the country into action starting on June 14. Among those selected to the team was Navy's Kiefer Black.
 
"Having the opportunity to represent my country and my family on a global scale is a huge honor," Black commented. "I am humbled to be able to represent our amazing country in both a military uniform and in the pool wearing the red, white, and blue on a global stage. I am very appreciative for the Naval Academy and their ongoing support in this process to allow me the opportunity to play for the USA and represent the Academy in Croatia."
 
Team USA was drawn into Group A and will meet Croatia, Hungary, and Montenegro in group play. A champion will be crowned on June 21. Live streaming and statistics information will be available soon.
 
Black, who was named to the Cutino Award Watch List earlier in the season, finished the year by earning Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) Honorable Mention All-American and First Team All-Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC), while also being selected to the First Team MAWPC All-Tournament team.
 
Black led the team with 171 points on a team-best 94 goals and 77 assists seeing action in all 32 games as a sophomore. He registered his second consecutive 100-point season, joining Luis Nicolao (118 point in 1990; 114 in 1991) and Doug Munz (113 points in 1993; 184 points in 1994) as the only players in program history with multiple 100-point seasons. In 2023, Black, who was the MAWPC Rookie of the Year, finished with 125 points. This season, his 77 helpers set the Navy single-season record for assists, topping the previous record of 57 originally set by Andrew Sause in 2000 and tied by Black in 2023.
 
For his career, Black is currently eighth in program history with 296 total points on 162 goals and 134 assists. The San Diego native enters his junior season two points back of Tom Temple ('88), who finished his career with 298 points, for seventh; five points back of Joe Donahue ('04) for sixth with 301 points; and 18 points behind Michael Mulvey ('09) for fifth with 314 points. Additionally, he is the sixth player in program history with 100 or more helpers in second place with 134. He is five assists back of Tom Popp ('89) who holds the school record with 139.
 
 
Men's Junior National Team (Hometown / School)
1. Charles Mills (Tiburon, Calif. / USC)
2. Baxter Chelsom (Los Angeles, Calif. / UC Davis)
3. Peter Castillo (Costa Mesa, Calif. / UCLA)
4. William Schneider (San Clemente, Calif. / Stanford)
5. Jonathan Carcarey (Santa Maria, Calif. / Pepperdine)
6. Gavin Appeldorn (Newport Beach, Calif. / Princeton)
7. Ryder Dodd (Long Beach, Calif. / UCLA)
8. Ryan Ohl (Greenwich, Conn. / Stanford)
9. Landon Akerstrom (Costa Mesa, Calif. / UC San Diego)
10. Connor Ohl (Newport Beach, Calif. / Newport Harbor HS)
11. Benjamin Liechty (Newport Beach, Calif. / UCLA)
12. Bode Brinkema (San Juan Capistrano, Calif. / UCLA)
13. Kiefer Black (San Diego, Calif. / Navy)
14. Max Zelikov (Boca Raton, Fla. / Stanford)
15. Corbin Stanley (Yorba Linda, Calif. / Long Beach State)
 
Staff
Jack Kocur – Head Coach       
Felix Mercado – Assistant Coach     
Alex Rodriguez – Assistant Coach
Derek Clappis – Assistant Coach
 
 
2025 World Aquatics Men's Junior World Championships Schedule (subject to change)
June 14 – USA at Croatia – 1:00 p.m. ET
June 15 – USA vs Hungary – 11:30 a.m. ET
June 16 – USA vs Montenegro – 11:30 a.m. ET
June 17 – TBD
June 18 – TBD
June 19 – TBD
June 20 – TBD
June 21 – TBD